Mikans at Midnight
by soundestguitar
Summary: Nami shows Luffy gratitude from saving her from Arlong in the middle of the night. After Arlong Arc. Enjoy!


Mikans at Midnight.

The full moon shown down on the open waters of the sea. The gentle waves of the ocean rocked the going-merry back and forth gently, lulling the five inhabitants to sleep. The ship had been anchored by a deserted island, hidden behind a cache of rocks in case of wandering marine ships passing by.

Within the hull of the goat-shaped vessel, the four men lay loosely in their hammocks, letting the need for rest come to them and slowly losing themselves to peaceful slumber.

Usopp slurred proud speeches in his sleep, about him being the great warrior of the sea he is, obviously enjoying the fantasies dancing in his subconscious. Zoro and Sanji muttered insults to one another in their sleep, with a "Moss-head" here and a "Pervy-cook" there. All the while, Luffy mused about food and meat as he drooled a water fall that cascaded from his mouth and formed a puddle on the floor.

The only one not getting her forty-winks was the ships very own money-grubbing navigator, Nami. She just lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to overtake her. unfortunately, exhaustion hadn't caught up with her. She then decided to roll over on her bed, making herself more comfortable, hopefully making her brain get the message that she wanted to call it a day. It didn't work, her brain was still on overtime.

She rolled back over to the other side of her bed, then back again. Left, right, left, right, she rolled over again and again, getting more annoyed by the action. She then sat up straight with a groan of irritation, giving up on the pursuit of rest.

Nami: "Arrrgh! This just isn't working! I just can't sleep!"

She fell back on her bed, her head hitting the pillow beneath her and looked over to her left side. There, sitting on the side table close to her bed, was a picture frame, holding the image of her and her sister, Nojiko when they were kids and Bellmere, her mother.

It had been close to a week since Arlong was defeated, his empire reduced to rubble, her home island freed from his tyranny and she had left with her new crew (and friends) to fulfil her dream and her promise to her mother; to draw out a full map of the entire world.

She was Free. She was free from having to push herself to the limit for a cause that would have been forever out of reach. Free from the monster that took away her ever-loving mother and shattered her heart. Free to feel like a natural human being again and not steel her heart for the so-called "greater good". She was free, surprisingly, thanks to a band of pirates, the breed of person she swore she would hate for the rest of her life.

One pirate in particular started to plague her mind.

She came out of her thoughts and looked at Bellmere in the picture one more time.

Nami: "…Wish me luck."

Next thing she knew, she was getting out of her bed and making her way to the men's quarters of the ship, creaking the door open slowly so as to not wake the other crew members. The last thing she wanted was Sanji dogging her in case she wanted a midnight snack.

She slipped her way past any clothes, beer bottles and any other clutter that could trip her up if not careful and made it to her destination. The bed side of the sleeping captain of the straw-hat pirates.

Luffy had done so much for her in such a short manner of time. He did what she had tried to do by her self for eight years in a manner of moments. All because Arlong made her cry. It was kind of sweet in a manner…Childish, but sweet.

Nami leaned in gently, as to not startle the boy awake. She brushed her short ginger locks out of her eye sight and tucked them behind her ear, so as to not get distracted by what she was about to do. Nami began to ready herself inside her head.

Nami: _"I may not know a lot about feelings…but I do know a lot about money…in this case, debt. I may not be able to pay you back for what you've done for me, Luffy…"_

She leaned in closer to the dozing face of the rubber man, her lips an inch away from his.

Nami: _"…But this should be a good start…"._

The red-headed navigator planted her lips on his, giving the unwary young man a soft and compassionate kiss, showing her gratitude for what he has done for her. She pulled back from the lip-lock in need of air, feeling that her cause has been completed.

Nami: _"…Free of charge… Captain."_

Nami then made he way back to her room, feeling satisfied with her actions, snuggled up in her bad and let herself finally fall asleep, with one more thought crossing her mind as she caught one last glance at Bellmere in the picture frame.

Nami: _"Bellmere…what would you think…if I fell in love…with a pirate."_

The next morning, Nami was awoken by the sound of Sanji calling for breakfast.

Sanji: "Nami, my dear~! Breakfast's ready~! Oy, moron's! Food's up!"

As the crew made their way into the kitchen, Usopp looked over at luffy, who couldn't stop licking his lips.

Usopp: "Hey, Luffy? What are you doing?"

Luffy: "I don't know…Hey, Nami!

Nami looked up from her plate which was placed in front of her by a Heart-eyed Sanji.

Nami: Yeah, Luffy. What's up?

Luffy: "Did I eat any of your tangerines last night in my sleep?"

Nami immediately blushed like a tomato at the sound of his words, remembering her actions from last night. She then put on an angry face and looked at Luffy as furiously as she could.

Nami: "Y-you better not have! Why?"

Luffy: "I don't know…I've just had this taste of tangerines in my mouth since I woke up...it tastes good!"

When Luffy bared his toothy grin, the colour red on Nami's face burned deeper. Sanji then interrupted the situation with a swift kick to the captain's head.

Sanji: "Luffy! If you snuck one of Nami's precious tangerines from her tree in the middle of the night, I'm going to fillet you!"

Zoro: "Oy, Pervy-cook! Stop squawking and give me my food!"

Sanji: "Wait when I'm done with this rubber-idiot, Moss-head!"

Usopp: "C'mon, guys! It's the first thing in the morning. Can't we just eat breakfast in peace."

Zoro/Sanji: "STAY OUT OF IT!"

As the cook and swordsman descended into another meaningless battle, usopp trying to break up the fight and Luffy laughing all the way, Nami just sat there, with red cheeks, wondering if what she did last night was a good idea at all.


End file.
